UX content can help customers, clients and other users become more familiar and

comfortable, with the services you provided.

But once those people have a basic understanding and familiarity,

you wanna support them and make them feel secure.

So let's discuss another form of UX content to focus on, helpful UX content.

When you hear the term helpful UX content,

one might assume we're talking about the stuff you create for

a help or support section on a website and that's certainly true.

When we create helpful UX content, we want to provide support for

our users, but we can also use it keep users engaged and

create logical pathways for users to follow.

So helpful UX content may show up in many areas of your website or app.

Let's focus on how we create it.

If you provide products or services with any element of complexity to them,

you need to provide some level of support.

And as we've been saying, you've gotta do more than the minimum.

So listing an email address or providing a vague help form isn't gonna cut it.

Go the extra mile and anticipate what users need and when they'll need it.

Providing some logical easy to understand UX content could really help them out.

One strategy is to create a knowledge base.

A section of content that provides instructional information for your users.

This makes sense if you have a product that requires specific knowledge

to use it.

Or if you offer advanced features that could be explained through things like

step by step instructions, downloadable guides, or walk through videos.

For example, Basecamp has it's own knowledge base,

offering detailed information about how to manage permissions for projects.

Or how to upgrade your workspace from version 2 to 3.

Ultimately, you wanna ensure users will be able successfully use whatever

you've created for them.

Making the overall experience feel more supportive and reliable for your user.

Have you ever bought something or tried to use an online platform,

only to get to some point where you give up?

Maybe you can't figure out how it works, or

you get overwhelmed by all its many features, details.

In many cases, users may abandon a product altogether, or

another goal of this helpful UX content is to keep users engaged.

The idea is that if you can help users better understand your offerings and

educate and support them through various issues, those users will stay motivated.

They'll want to keep using whatever you've created.

Emma's support pages were created to help explain to customers how their email

service works and what things mean, like specific email response analytics.

But they don't just provide definitions,

they write the content in an approachable, easy to understand way.

An important point here is that if you can speak your user's language,

they'll understand and appreciate the content.

That means writing in a style that's clear and familiar to them.

Using terms and even a personality that resonates with them.

And it's even more helpful when you focus on details that are personally

important to them.

If you understand who your users are and what they are trying to accomplish,

then you'll know which features they need help understanding.

How to convey information to them and

what UX content you need to create to support their goals.

One more goal we mentioned for

helpful UX content was to create logical pathways for our users.

No matter what kind of website or app you build,

you'll want your users to take certain actions.

And sometimes, it'll make sense for them to follow a path or

a specific order of actions.

In UX circles, this might also be known as the user flow.

Like if someone searches for a game in the PlayStation Store, it makes sense for

Sony to provide a path to purchase that game once the user finds it.

In this case, the user interface will draw attention to that path with a big button.

But a great example of this helpful UX content is the website for

the Apple trade-in program.

If a customer is considering trading in their laptop or iPhone,

Apple will walk them through a series of questions that determines which device

they've got and it's current condition.

Each step is simple and friendly and includes short messages,

with easy choices and a progress bar at the top.

They also include little, what does this mean links, with short,

simple explanations.

And by the end, Apple has all the info they need to provide an estimate.

Which is what the user wanted, but

they also give the user more logical paths related to this.

Like actually going forward with the trad-in so the user can get their money.

In the end, helpful UX content does more than just provide help.

It moves your users further down important pathways, removing barriers and

making the choice to take action much easier and much more attractive.

When you've got a potential customer ready to trade-in hardware,

there's a big difference between Apple providing the address of the nearest

Apple Store, and forcing the customer to physically go there, or

getting users one click away from competing the actual process.

So, how can you use this content to help your users?

Identify those paths.

Where do users arrive on your site and where do they go?

What features do they use, or what content do they look for?

Using helpful UX content, you could guide them closer to a purchase or

expand their knowledge.

But regardless of their action, your helpful content could build trust and

faith in your website or app.

If you can anticipate your users' needs and what they are trying to do,

your UX content will be perfectly helpful and effective.